Peter Mills bidsa fond farewellto town council

Under his tenure the Town Council gained Quality Council Status and improved its links with the town’s residents.

Peter presided over his last full council meeting, at the Almonry, on Tuesday evening.

Although Peter retires as Town Clerk, he will still play an active role in the life of the town. He is president elect of the Battle Rotary Club and a committee member of both the Memorial Hall and Battle Club.

Peter says he also intends to continue lending a hand with the Beautiful Battle project.

He joked: “I will always remember the day I started as Clerk - it was April 1 2000.”

Reflecting on his time in the role, Peter said: “It was good to get Quality Council Status as it demonstrated that we are a capable and effective council.

“Overall though, what I will remember and take away most is 13 happy years or working with, on the whole, very positive and supportive people and organisations. That is what I will remember most fondly, not sitting behind a desk but my time working with people.

“The council has worked hard at improving communications with people in the town through regular newsletters and the website. We do have better community links now.

“Some things though I cannot see changing for a long while, such as the traffic and parking issues in Battle.

“Battle has real community spirit - it is the glue that holds the town together.

“It has been 13 enjoyable years and what we have achieved has been a great team effort involving the councillors and council staff.”

At Tuesday’s full council meeting, council chairman Richard Bye thanked Peter for his hard work and wished him a long and happy retirement.

This was followed by council members giving him three cheers.

The council has organised a farewell function for Peter on Thursday July 25.